Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Topped with a decadent chocolate glaze. this velvety smooth Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake is the ultimate summer treat!

Why We Love It

Summer is here, and that means an abundance of delicious local fruit is heading our way! One of my favorite summer indulgences are berries. Plump juicy strawberries, blueberries and blackberries will be filling my fridge soon just waiting to be eaten! But the berry I look forward to the most is the raspberry. When it is perfectly ripe, no berry can beat it!

Because I'm berry obsessed, I sometimes overindulge in berry purchasing (who can't pass up a good sale--especially these days?). But let's face it: berries don't keep long and raspberries are one of the worst offenders. That's okay though, because when I overbuy, I then have the best excuse to make one of my absolutely favorite cheesecakes.

I'm talking about this delicious Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake. Just looking at a slice of it in this post gets me salivating. Fresh raspberries are pressed into a graham cracker crust, then covered with a creamy, decadent cheesecake before being topped with a delicious chocolate glaze. It's absolutely wonderful! If you've read my post for Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake, then you already know my feelings on chocolate glazes! The one on this cheesecake is slightly different, but equally amazing. Everything is always better with chocolate, right?

Why You'll Love It

If you've experienced the pure joy of having raspberries and chocolate together, then you already know that it's an incredible flavor combination. If you haven't tried it yet, Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake is the perfect excuse to be a little adventurous.

This super delicious cheesecake requires a little bit of work, but it pays off with every bite. We use a pre-made graham cracker crust as a shortcut (though you could use homemade). The cheesecake layer is fairly simple to mix together with a hand mixer and the chocolate glaze is made on your stovetop with only 2 ingredients. Though fresh is always better, you may swap out the fresh raspberries for frozen (especially if you're reading this in the winter--no need to delay trying Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake!).

This cheesecake is also a reason to indulge in a little whipped cream (that would work, right?--after all, you already have the heavy cream you bought for the glaze!). Just remember: we all deserve a special treat sometimes...and Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake is here to help you with that!

Get the recipe for Easy Homemade Whipped Cream by clicking HERE (follow the directions, but modify the recipe by using your remaining 1 & 3/4 cups heavy cream from this recipe with 3-4 T. white sugar).

Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Ingredients

For the cheesecake:

• 8 ounces reduced fat cream cheese, softened (I use Philadelphia brand)
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 ounces fresh raspberries (raspberries typically come in 6 oz. containers--we use a little extra for garnish)
• 1 (6 ounce) ready-made graham cracker pie crust

For the chocolate glaze:

• 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

How to make Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

You'll want to gather the following equipment:

• hand mixer
• large mixing bowl
• scraping/rubber spatula
• mixing spoons
• measuring cups
• measuring spoons
• citrus juicer
• large rimmed baking sheet (to place pie on in oven)
• wire cooling rack
• small saucepan (spouted is helpful)
• stirring spoon

Kitchen Ready Betty tips:

Before starting...

• Soften cream cheese on counter (to expedite, put the bar in the microwave for 15 seconds)
• Rinse raspberries and pat dry
• Juice the lemon
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Make the Cheesecake

In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with a hand mixer until fluffy.

Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Stop the mixer as needed and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Add the egg, lemon juice and vanilla; mix well. Scrape the sides again, if necessary.

Press 6 ounces (1 container) of raspberries firmly into bottom of crust.

Kitchen Ready Betty tip: I like buying (2) 6 ounce containers of raspberries for this recipe. Even if you don't want any extra for garnish, I suggest you do the same. Inevitably, there's always a mushy berry (or two or three) in one container. By having two containers, I have plenty of raspberries for the cheesecake!

Place the crust on baking pan (not pictured). Then slowly pour cheesecake mixture over raspberries.

Kitchen Ready Betty tip: Put the crust on the pan before pouring the cheesecake mixture. This makes it much easier to transfer the cheesecake from your counter to the oven. This is a fairly heavy batter, and we don't want the crust to crack!

Bake the cake in your preheated 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on wire cooling rack.

Make the Glaze

In a small saucepan, over low heat, melt chocolate chips with whipping cream. Stir until thickened and smooth.

Remove the pan from heat and carefully pour glaze over cooled cheesecake.

Chill the cake until glaze is set (usually 1-2 hours). Then slice and serve!

And it always tastes extra special with some whipped cream and extra raspberries on top!

Kitchen Ready Betty tip: Check out Easy Homemade Whipped Cream--you may adjust that recipe to use up the rest of your heavy cream from this one. Follow the directions, with modified ingredients. Simply use the remaining cream in your container (1 & 3/4 cups) with 3-4 tablespoons of white sugar.

Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Leftovers?

If you're a chocolate and raspberry lover like me, this cake won't be around for long!

Store the cheesecake in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days (the longer it sits, the soggier the crust will get).

Kitchen Ready Betty tip: If you used a ready-made crust, keep the plastic liner that protected the crust in the store. Wash it, invert it and use it as an airtight lid for your cheesecake! Simply unfold the foil edges, place the lid on top and then press the foil edges back down around to seal it! Voilá!

Love cheesecakes? Then Mini Lime Cheesecakes are calling your name!